Very good from Bottas, concerning that Mercedes were so clearly ahead of Ferrari in qualy. Race pace will be different, I think. Any of the Mercedes or Ferrari drivers can win the race, even if that sounds a bit optimistic for Kimi.

Indeed Wolff noted how much understeer Ferrari ran with in qualifying in order to look after the rear tyres in the race thus sacrificing some qualifying pace, Hamilton also ran more understeer than Bottas.

Very good from Bottas, concerning that Mercedes were so clearly ahead of Ferrari in qualy. Race pace will be different, I think. Any of the Mercedes or Ferrari drivers can win the race, even if that sounds a bit optimistic for Kimi.

Indeed Wolff noted how much understeer Ferrari ran with in qualifying in order to look after the rear tyres in the race thus sacrificing some qualifying pace, Hamilton also ran more understeer than Bottas.

Very good from Bottas, concerning that Mercedes were so clearly ahead of Ferrari in qualy. Race pace will be different, I think. Any of the Mercedes or Ferrari drivers can win the race, even if that sounds a bit optimistic for Kimi.

Indeed Wolff noted how much understeer Ferrari ran with in qualifying in order to look after the rear tyres in the race thus sacrificing some qualifying pace, Hamilton also ran more understeer than Bottas.

Where was it said Hamilton ran more understeer than bottas ?

They ran through both their laps on the Sky pad were they noticed that Hamilton was understeering in the corners whereas Bottas car was just planted to were he wanted it to go, I'm not sure how long Bottas' rear tyres will last in the race?

Very good from Bottas, concerning that Mercedes were so clearly ahead of Ferrari in qualy. Race pace will be different, I think. Any of the Mercedes or Ferrari drivers can win the race, even if that sounds a bit optimistic for Kimi.

Indeed Wolff noted how much understeer Ferrari ran with in qualifying in order to look after the rear tyres in the race thus sacrificing some qualifying pace, Hamilton also ran more understeer than Bottas.

Where was it said Hamilton ran more understeer than bottas ?

They ran through both their laps on the Sky pad were they noticed that Hamilton was understeering in the corners whereas Bottas car was just planted to were he wanted it to go, I'm not sure how long Bottas' rear tyres will last in the race?

Ah yes I knew there was something I missed in this little summary I made in the sky thread:

Covalent wrote:

Bottas and Lewis were close in q1 = Lewis wasn't pushing.Bottas s1 time in q2 was faster = He was pushing too hard and that's why Lewis was faster overall.Bottas faster in q3 = Lewis must have made a mistake.

Very good from Bottas, concerning that Mercedes were so clearly ahead of Ferrari in qualy. Race pace will be different, I think. Any of the Mercedes or Ferrari drivers can win the race, even if that sounds a bit optimistic for Kimi.

Indeed Wolff noted how much understeer Ferrari ran with in qualifying in order to look after the rear tyres in the race thus sacrificing some qualifying pace, Hamilton also ran more understeer than Bottas.

Where was it said Hamilton ran more understeer than bottas ?

They ran through both their laps on the Sky pad were they noticed that Hamilton was understeering in the corners whereas Bottas car was just planted to were he wanted it to go, I'm not sure how long Bottas' rear tyres will last in the race?

Interesting , but often when this kind of rhetoric comes out it doesn't translate to any great advantage in the race. We will see

Very good from Bottas, concerning that Mercedes were so clearly ahead of Ferrari in qualy. Race pace will be different, I think. Any of the Mercedes or Ferrari drivers can win the race, even if that sounds a bit optimistic for Kimi.

Indeed Wolff noted how much understeer Ferrari ran with in qualifying in order to look after the rear tyres in the race thus sacrificing some qualifying pace, Hamilton also ran more understeer than Bottas.

Where was it said Hamilton ran more understeer than bottas ?

They ran through both their laps on the Sky pad were they noticed that Hamilton was understeering in the corners whereas Bottas car was just planted to were he wanted it to go, I'm not sure how long Bottas' rear tyres will last in the race?

Interesting , but often when this kind of rhetoric comes out it doesn't translate to any great advantage in the race. We will see

Indeed Wolff noted how much understeer Ferrari ran with in qualifying in order to look after the rear tyres in the race thus sacrificing some qualifying pace, Hamilton also ran more understeer than Bottas.

Where was it said Hamilton ran more understeer than bottas ?

They ran through both their laps on the Sky pad were they noticed that Hamilton was understeering in the corners whereas Bottas car was just planted to were he wanted it to go, I'm not sure how long Bottas' rear tyres will last in the race?

Interesting , but often when this kind of rhetoric comes out it doesn't translate to any great advantage in the race. We will see

If so why have Ferrari dialled so much understeer into their cars?

Bottas seems to have a qualifying set up?

I'm not technically competent enough to answer that with any direct knowledge but I wonder why Kimi would complain about understeer if they built it in intentionally?

They ran through both their laps on the Sky pad were they noticed that Hamilton was understeering in the corners whereas Bottas car was just planted to were he wanted it to go, I'm not sure how long Bottas' rear tyres will last in the race?

Interesting , but often when this kind of rhetoric comes out it doesn't translate to any great advantage in the race. We will see

If so why have Ferrari dialled so much understeer into their cars?

Bottas seems to have a qualifying set up?

I'm not technically competent enough to answer that with any direct knowledge but I wonder why Kimi would complain about understeer if they built it in intentionally?

Kimi doesn't like understeer but i guess they just tapped him on the head and said we know better for the race?

Indeed Wolff noted how much understeer Ferrari ran with in qualifying in order to look after the rear tyres in the race thus sacrificing some qualifying pace, Hamilton also ran more understeer than Bottas.

Where was it said Hamilton ran more understeer than bottas ?

They ran through both their laps on the Sky pad were they noticed that Hamilton was understeering in the corners whereas Bottas car was just planted to were he wanted it to go, I'm not sure how long Bottas' rear tyres will last in the race?

Interesting , but often when this kind of rhetoric comes out it doesn't translate to any great advantage in the race. We will see

If so why have Ferrari dialled so much understeer into their cars?

Bottas seems to have a qualifying set up?

So if he has a good race tomorrow it will be even more impressive considering he had a qualifying setup?

So, have people come to terms that Mercedes still have an advantage (in qualy trim at least), or are we going to get "Bottas made all the difference" this time around?

Like every qualifying session is the same, Bottas is good enough to outqualify Hamilton but not good enough to nearly outqualify Vettel?

Occasionally, its possible... because similar to what we`re seeing this season, Hamilton has been outqualified by Rosberg too in this track, who(Rosberg) in turn was outqualified by Vettel in few occasions, but it does not mean that Mercedes did not have an advantage over Ferrari on the last 2 seasons, does it?

If Ferrari people in the paddock shared some forumers' opinion that the cars were equal in qualies, but apparently Vettel left 3,2,4 tenths on the table for the 1st 3 qualifiers, Vettel would have received at least "hurry up" call, whilst Kimi's contract would have been cancelled already at this point.

They ran through both their laps on the Sky pad were they noticed that Hamilton was understeering in the corners whereas Bottas car was just planted to were he wanted it to go, I'm not sure how long Bottas' rear tyres will last in the race?

Interesting , but often when this kind of rhetoric comes out it doesn't translate to any great advantage in the race. We will see

If so why have Ferrari dialled so much understeer into their cars?

Bottas seems to have a qualifying set up?

So if he has a good race tomorrow it will be even more impressive considering he had a qualifying setup?

I'm not sure it would be that impressive even if Lewis was chewing the tyres in AUS it still took getting stuck behind max to lose the. A bit more luck or better strategy call will win the race given the overtaking limitations.

The point I'm making is bottas car would have to be super tuned for qualy and the others super tuned for the race for it to make a meaningful difference during the race. Sounds like Hamilton over thinking it, as well as ferrari...Unless ferrari understood early on in the weekend they needed to gamble on something different

They ran through both their laps on the Sky pad were they noticed that Hamilton was understeering in the corners whereas Bottas car was just planted to were he wanted it to go, I'm not sure how long Bottas' rear tyres will last in the race?

Interesting , but often when this kind of rhetoric comes out it doesn't translate to any great advantage in the race. We will see

If so why have Ferrari dialled so much understeer into their cars?

Bottas seems to have a qualifying set up?

So if he has a good race tomorrow it will be even more impressive considering he had a qualifying setup?

Yes indeed if he can win the race.

And even if he can't we can put part of the blame on the set up I suppose.

Very good from Bottas, concerning that Mercedes were so clearly ahead of Ferrari in qualy. Race pace will be different, I think. Any of the Mercedes or Ferrari drivers can win the race, even if that sounds a bit optimistic for Kimi.

Indeed Wolff noted how much understeer Ferrari ran with in qualifying in order to look after the rear tyres in the race thus sacrificing some qualifying pace, Hamilton also ran more understeer than Bottas.

Where was it said Hamilton ran more understeer than bottas ?

They ran through both their laps on the Sky pad were they noticed that Hamilton was understeering in the corners whereas Bottas car was just planted to were he wanted it to go, I'm not sure how long Bottas' rear tyres will last in the race?

Had this been Vettel there won't be an excuse, it will simply be he messed up his lap he cracked under pressure. But Hamilton roll out the red carpet for the excuses!

Bottas being slightly faster in sector one immediately indicates that Hamilton is saving his tyres for sector three...

It's bias but Hamilton is one of the best at getting the maximum out of a set of tyres over an entire lap (over a race distance is another thing entirely, mind). It's a key part of his qualifying philosophy. If you watch his onboards, he rarely fights the car and has a good feel for the grip on exit even while breaking earlier than his rivals in high speed corners (turn 11 and 12 this year at Melbourne is a good example).

Granted, it's just the ridiculousness of the comments that annoy the hell out of me. It's all one way traffic, as if no one can ever just do a better lap than Lewis. Same when he loses time on track to someone and you just know the next thing you're going to hear will be 'Is Lewis nursing a problem with the car?'...

He's brilliant, but he's not perfect every lap of every race (and neither is anyone else).

_________________Shoot999: "And anyone who puts a Y on the end of his name as a nickname should be punched in the face repeatedly."

I'm not sure it would be that impressive even if Lewis was chewing the tyres in AUS it still took getting stuck behind max to lose the. A bit more luck or better strategy call will win the race given the overtaking limitations.

The point I'm making is bottas car would have to be super tuned for qualy and the others super tuned for the race for it to make a meaningful difference during the race. Sounds like Hamilton over thinking it, as well as ferrari...Unless ferrari understood early on in the weekend they needed to gamble on something different

Well I think the question is can Bottas make his tyres last for a 1 stop.

So if he has a good race tomorrow it will be even more impressive considering he had a qualifying setup?

No, no... if he wins tomorrow then Lewis' car will have been set up badly by the team.

I've said it looks like Hamilton's car has been set up for the race so I've already not got that excuse have I?

I've said that it looks like Hamilton may have the better race car for looking after it's rear tyres, all that being true it will be interesting to see if Bottas can make his track position count, his biggest worry may be Vettel rather than Hamilton because Hamilton will not be allowed to undercut him.

Thinking about it if Hamilton doesn't lead the race after the first lap I can't see him winning it he he gets trapped between Bottas and Vettel, I'm surmising that overtaking will be very difficult.

I was trying to work out what's going on in the dashboard display of Bottas' steering wheel during his pole position lap. He only changes the brake bias twice - from 55 to 59 and back again. I seem to remember Rosberg making a change between every pair of corners. Is this giving Valteri less to do and making his job easier or is he being too conservative and losing the benefit of making more changes on each lap?

Also, he kept getting displays saying things like "Entry 7" or "Entry 6" which looked like prompts for which gear to use in a corner - but it didn't quite relate to the selections he was making.

Could someone explain to me what his read outs are telling him and why he appears to make so few brake bias adjustments?

OK, my take on this (just to emphasise, my own speculation!). The element of understeer does suggest cars more geared to race trim in terms of protecting the rears. Each driver will have his own preference so perhaps Bottas went for something a little less conservative than Hamilton. I seriously doubt that Mercedes have ignored race conditions so I doubt that they will be much less 'rear-friendly' than Ferrari, more that they still have a quali mode to apply. For what it's worth, I believe that Vettel is about as good as anybody over one lap and that, in identical cars, would probably match Hamilton in that regard.I still expect Ferrari to have better race pace than quali pace and hope that they will be a match for Mercedes (Raikkonen has performed well here before and I am hopeful for him to be in the mix as well). On this basis, I suspect that the race will boil down to the start, pit strategy, an element of tyre conservation and - maybe - traffic. I do not expect any other team to feature race-pace wise but I'd be happy to be proven wrong, or even to have a Joker in the pack in terms of somebody out of position (take Sainz and his grid position - if he gets a great start...).Looking forward to it.

So if he has a good race tomorrow it will be even more impressive considering he had a qualifying setup?

No, no... if he wins tomorrow then Lewis' car will have been set up badly by the team.

I've said it looks like Hamilton's car has been set up for the race so I've already not got that excuse have I?

I've said that it looks like Hamilton may have the better race car for looking after it's rear tyres, all that being true it will be interesting to see if Bottas can make his track position count, his biggest worry may be Vettel rather than Hamilton because Hamilton will not be allowed to undercut him.

Thinking about it if Hamilton doesn't lead the race after the first lap I can't see him winning it he he gets trapped between Bottas and Vettel, I'm surmising that overtaking will be very difficult.

Think about the situation Bot, Ham, Vet, and very close to each others. Which is quite a possibility if Bottas does not pull away from Hamilton. Then Ferrari pulls in Vettel for the undercut... and Mercedes can't take both of their drives in at the very same next lap to counteract the undercut. They take in the leading Bottas, and Hamilton ends behind both of them. Or? Are we to see a TO being issued in the first sting, for Bottas to let Hamilton pass and block Vettel?

Think about the situation Bot, Ham, Vet, and very close to each others. Which is quite a possibility if Bottas does not pull away from Hamilton. Then Ferrari pulls in Vettel for the undercut... and Mercedes can't take both of their drives in at the very same next lap to counteract the undercut. They take in the leading Bottas, and Hamilton ends behind both of them. Or? Are we to see a TO being issued in the first sting, for Bottas to let Hamilton pass and block Vettel?

I got downvoted on Reddit for saying something similar. Hamilton is the only one who can take the fight to Vettel given that Bottas has been P3 on the grid in both the previous GP. Mercedes may be forced into a tough decision if the Ferrari strategy guys get it right.

I got downvoted on Reddit for saying something similar. Hamilton is the only one who can take the fight to Vettel given that Bottas has been P3 on the grid in both the previous GP. Mercedes may be forced into a tough decision if the Ferrari strategy guys get it right.

I don't see how Bottas' past grid positions are relevant to this GP, where he clearly is not P3 on the grid. There's every reason to believe Bottas will be as quick as Hamilton in the race, since he has been throughout the weekend so far. It's not a certainty, but I can't see just writing him off before he even turns a wheel in the race on the basis that Lewis beat him badly in qualifying for the last two rounds.

I am confused. Ossi oikarinen, former Ferrari engineer, says Kimis problem is too understeery car. They could lower the front ture pressures and widen the front wing but it doesnt solve the problem. As we heard Kimi had problems in quali with one too hot tyre, sign of low pressures? Oikarinen thinks too much understeer makes car to loose it rear tyres sooner. Thats the trick they will try with Kimi. He also says unfortunately Pirelli has made hard tyres again and its difficult to say at which point tyres would make the car oversteery without team data.

For Bottas it was a damn good job, without taking anything from Hamilton. Dont split the hairs all the time, its people racing ,not robots.

So if he has a good race tomorrow it will be even more impressive considering he had a qualifying setup?

No, no... if he wins tomorrow then Lewis' car will have been set up badly by the team.

I've said it looks like Hamilton's car has been set up for the race so I've already not got that excuse have I?

I've said that it looks like Hamilton may have the better race car for looking after it's rear tyres, all that being true it will be interesting to see if Bottas can make his track position count, his biggest worry may be Vettel rather than Hamilton because Hamilton will not be allowed to undercut him.

Thinking about it if Hamilton doesn't lead the race after the first lap I can't see him winning it he he gets trapped between Bottas and Vettel, I'm surmising that overtaking will be very difficult.

Hamilton will take the lead from the start, Bottas will be nervous of contact and the contract extension he wants... or maybe not? Maybe he doesn't want to make the same mistakes Nico made, and he doesn't want to let Lewis think that every time he comes up behind him he'll be an easy target? Max seems to be doing great with his attitude, maybe the other drivers are waking up to the fact that when it comes down to it, you're either a pusher or a pushed.

_________________Shoot999: "And anyone who puts a Y on the end of his name as a nickname should be punched in the face repeatedly."

I don't see how Bottas' past grid positions are relevant to this GP, where he clearly is not P3 on the grid.

It's not particularly relevant, I concede. I do believe that the long runs showed Hamilton having a 0.2 per lap margin and the Ferrari's will be more competitive in race trim. However, Hamilton is in the vulnerable position if Bottas forms a little train. Is a Bottas-Vettel-Hamilton 1-3 a good result for Mercedes compared to a Hamilton-Bottas 1-2?

Exediron wrote:

It's not a certainty, but I can't see just writing him off before he even turns a wheel in the race on the basis that Lewis beat him badly in qualifying for the last two rounds.

To be fair, Bottas made a horrendous mistake last time out. I wouldn't completely rule out him buckling again given how the memory of that error is very fresh.

Think about the situation Bot, Ham, Vet, and very close to each others. Which is quite a possibility if Bottas does not pull away from Hamilton. Then Ferrari pulls in Vettel for the undercut... and Mercedes can't take both of their drives in at the very same next lap to counteract the undercut. They take in the leading Bottas, and Hamilton ends behind both of them. Or? Are we to see a TO being issued in the first sting, for Bottas to let Hamilton pass and block Vettel?

I got downvoted on Reddit for saying something similar. Hamilton is the only one who can take the fight to Vettel given that Bottas has been P3 on the grid in both the previous GP. Mercedes may be forced into a tough decision if the Ferrari strategy guys get it right.

It is tricky, and that's exactly what Ferrari would have done in the Schumi years. I guess it was a lot easier to let the drivers race in the domination years... and Bottas hasn't proved himself yet (and he's on a one year contract). It's a bit early in the year to be giving team orders, but again that's what Brawn would have done at Ferrari... I think it would be very disappointing for the fans to see that kind of thing this early in the year. What if Bottas now gets four poles in a row?

_________________Shoot999: "And anyone who puts a Y on the end of his name as a nickname should be punched in the face repeatedly."

Hamilton will take the lead from the start, Bottas will be nervous of contact and the contract extension he wants... or maybe not?

Bottas was the low drama option. I imagine Mercedes will be pretty tiddled if Bottas crashed both Mercs out in his 3rd race. It took 12 races for Nico to have the slightest contact with Lewis and he got thrown under the bus. When the chips are down, it's Hamilton's team and has been since 2013.

Hamilton will take the lead from the start, Bottas will be nervous of contact and the contract extension he wants... or maybe not?

Bottas was the low drama option. I imagine Mercedes will be pretty tiddled if Bottas crashed both Mercs out in his 3rd race. It took 12 races for Nico to have the slightest contact with Lewis and he got thrown under the bus. When the chips are down, it's Hamilton's team and has been since 2013.

Hamilton would have been thrown under the bus if the roles were reversed in Spa. It was a pathetic piece of driving from Rosberg.

Hamilton will take the lead from the start, Bottas will be nervous of contact and the contract extension he wants... or maybe not?

Bottas was the low drama option. I imagine Mercedes will be pretty tiddled if Bottas crashed both Mercs out in his 3rd race. It took 12 races for Nico to have the slightest contact with Lewis and he got thrown under the bus. When the chips are down, it's Hamilton's team and has been since 2013.

31 races.

Mercedes are quite happy to blame Hamilton for accidents. See Lauda's comments in Spain last year.